I would go to war for you
by NerdCat-Aydsa
Summary: King Arthur arrives at Lot's Kingdom for negotiations, but an incident occurs, and he has a question to face: 'What will he never sacrifice for success'


_**So I was searching on tumblr, merlinfinders lj, and dirty bookshelves for some protective Arthur fics with nobles so I decided to write my own piece of fluffy goodness after reading so many great ones.**_

 _ **I like exploring the idea of canon time period attitudes between the nobles and normal citizens...I assume that there would have been quite a lot of mistreatment at the times against servants so I might write more fics exploring this concept ~~!**_

 ** _Enjoy,_**

 ** _Aydsa_**

* * *

The hall bustled with the loud, excited voices of hundreds of people, and the banners of Camelot draped against one side of Essetir's royal hall contrasted with the deep dark colors of Essetir's banners. The nobles and the Knights entered the hall first, stood at their seats waiting until the doors slammed open again, revealing an entourage of Knights accompanying the two Kings.

Arthur walked in with confidence radiating from every step, shoulders tempered with the weight of the world, and head held high with humbleness borne from the experience of hardship and loss. Merlin bowed with the crowd as the two Kings approached the main seats, but his attention was only focused on Arthur and the breathtaking image he made.

When Arthur's blue eyes met his, Merlin could see a split second of vulnerability in that blue gaze but it disappeared when he answered that gaze with a soft, reassuring smile.

Merlin kept his head bowed until Arthur walked pass and took his seat, then he appeared behind Arthur's chair silently, portraying the perfect image of an obedient servant.

The hall fell silent when King Lot raised his hand and declared, "Welcome noble guests to this momentous occasion!"

King Lot gestured to Arthur and said, "We are here today to celebrate King Arthur's participation in the following negotiations for the peace treaty between Camelot and Essetir."

To everybody else it was impossible to see the flicker of disdain in Arthur's eyes at King Lot's oily, poison-sweet voice, but Merlin could see it as clear as day and he had to bite his lips to stop an amused smirk from appearing. After the short introduction, King Lot's announcement of "Let the feast begin!" was a sign for the floodgates of noise to open. Before anybody could blink, the hall was awash with sound and the mad rush of food being served. Merlin laid the dishes of food out in front of Arthur, before he grabbed a pitcher of wine and stepped back to hover like the rest of the servants.

In the back ground, he heard Gwaine's boisterous voice mingled with Lancelot's soft spoken words and Percival's short, blunt answers, and he subtly moved towards the Knights sitting right next to Arthur, unable to resist the temptation to join them.

When Merlin bent down to refill Gwaine's cup with wine, he was surprised to see that it was still quite full. Gwaine's exaggerated gesturing and loud booming tales of drunken endeavours contrasted with the almost imperceptible lines of tension in the creases of his eyes, and when he glanced at Leon, Percival, Lancelot and Elyan he saw the same tension in the shadows of their shoulders and eyes. To say that Merlin was surprised was an understatement, because now that he saw how alert his friends were behind their facades, Merlin also noticed that the hall was saturated with a lingering atmosphere of skin-crawling tension, with subjects from both Kingdoms subtly and warily eying each other out.

Merlin bit his lip and edged back to where Arthur was sitting.

In his haste to return to Arthur's side and away from wandering gazes, he did not notice the piercing eyes that followed his every move, until he looked up and saw King Lot's eyes tracing his body. From the corner of his vision, he saw Arthur's grip on his goblet tighten and his shoulders tense.

Merlin quickly cast his eyes down and hunched his shoulder in submission, fervently hoping that the pose would fool the King into averting his attention to someone else… but in the back of his mind Merlin knew that there was no way Fate or Lady Luck would be so kind to him; because apparently he was 'destined' to forever live life as a trouble-attracting magnet.

Therefore Merlin was unsurprised when he was called over with a sharp gesture by King Lot, so he steeled his nerves and tentatively stepped towards Lot to fill his empty cup.

Merlin had never filled a cup faster or as gracefully as he did when he served Lot, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins made everything sharper and clearer.

Even though his skin wanted to skitter with disgust and his arms wanted to shake with anxiety, his hands were as steady as a mountain and he barely spilled a drop of wine when, normally, he would have spilled quite a bit.

Unfortunately, the universe did hate him because even though he had not created a disastrous accident by spilling wine onto King Lot's tunic, something else happened.

In a blink of an eye, a large hand shot out, grabbed his wrist and pulled so hard he did not have the time to react before he found himself in King Lot's lap with a bruising, unyielding vice around his waist.

Merlin flinched violently when he felt the hands immobilizing his hips cup him through his coarse, thread-bare trousers. He opened his mouth to let out the scream building in his chest, but snapped it shut when he remembered how hard Arthur worked to establish this chance to negotiate with Essetir.

The angry sounds of a dozen chairs against stone floors stopped everybody cold.  
Before anybody could comprehend what was happening, Merlin felt a familiar, calloused hand grip his arm, yank him out of Lot's lap and into a hard but warm chest. Arthur's arm draped across his shoulder in a possessive and gentle hold before he was protectively pressed against Arthur's side.

Arthur's ice-cold voice rang out in the echoing silence of the room.

" _Lot, you have overstepped your boundaries._ "

Those words rang with an emotion so furious it wasn't even anger anymore.  
It was filled with something that surpassed fury and dropped right into the realms of cold murderous intent. He had _never_ \- during their time together- heard Arthur this angry. The cruel stabs of dripping ice from Arthur's words would have made lesser men wet themselves and frightened the bejesus out of him, instead he only felt relief and an overwhelming rush of _love_ for this ridiculous man. This ridiculous man who would risk war, risk his kingdom for a servant.

The harsh din of swords being drawn gave Merlin a wake up call. He felt his body slowly stop trembling and the fear gripping his lungs ease, leaving him feeling less like a shivering mess and more like a functioning human. Merlin managed to raise his head, turn and meet King Lot's eyes head-on just in time to hear his replies.

Lot gave a nonchalant wave before standing up, "I meant no disrespect, King Arthur."

"I was not aware that _that one_ was personally yours. Name the amount and I will compensate for this small-"

"Think very _carefully_ about your next words, Lot." Arthur's words was a low whisper that lacked volume, but Lot and all his Knights unconsciously tensed at the implied threat.

" _Now now_ , King Arthur. We wouldn't want to be too hasty and ruin relationships before the negotiations." There was an arrogant, triumphant smirk on King Lot's face that accompanied the sweet, venomous threat.

"And all for what? A lowly servant? Servants are there to be used-", Lot's words were cut off by the gleaming tip of a sword against his throat.

Arthur's eyes were so dark, they were like a force of nature, and his face was devoid of all emotion except icy bloodlust.

"If you utter another insult to a member of my family, I will personally _kill_ you where you stand." The words were a low blood-curdling whisper, with no remorse and no hesitation.

Arthur whipped around, gestured to Camelot's Knights and strode out of the hall with a curt, "Percival, Elyan, Leon! We are leaving now! Get the horses ready."

* * *

Merlin walked through the Castle of Essetir in a daze, flanked in the middle of a circle of protective, paranoid and on-edge knights. The only thing keeping him moving was Lancelot's and Gwaine's gentle guiding hands.

He only realized that he was in Arthur's rooms when he was guided onto the carpet near the fire and Arthur's shivering arms enveloped him in a crushing hug. Merlin could feel Arthur's shaky breaths against his neck before his head was tucked under a chin, and he immediately melted into that gentle touch. Into Arthur. Arthur who would never treat him the way nobles do...who he couldn't live without. Arthur was his anchor. His lodestone.

Merlin was sobbing before he was even aware of it, his hands clutching Arthur's tunic desperately and body trembling with guilt and remnants of blind fear. He wasn't aware that he was babbling until he realized the litany of " _I'm so sorry- sorrysorryso - arthur - I_ " was him.

Merlin met Arthur's sad - _why such sad_ \- eyes when a hand gently tilted his head up and fingers wiped his tears away. "Merlin _please_!"

Arthur leaned closer and rested his forehead against Merlin's. The words were heartbreakingly whispered against the space between them, and it felt like a confession wrenched from some aching place inside the soul.

" _Please_ \- don't don't ever say that- I would do anything for you. _Anything_ -"

Merlin cupped Arthur's cheek and his words trembled in the open air.

"But I ruined this for you… For-for Camelot!"

Arthur shook his head and Merlin felt a small, weary sigh fill the air before Arthur gave him a bittersweet smile.

"No...it was never going to work. I knew it wasn't, but I was too unrealistic this time in my hopes of avoiding war for Camelot and her people."

Arthur's next words struck Merlin the hardest.

"But I would go to war for you. _**Always**_."


End file.
